Taunton police confiscate 100 grams of cocaine in bust

Thursday

Jul 3, 2014 at 11:45 PMJul 3, 2014 at 11:51 PM

More than 100 grams of cocaine were confiscated by police and two men were arrested on Wednesday afternoon after Taunton detectives performed a surveillance operation in the parking lot of Mill River Professional Center.

TAUNTON — More than 100 grams of cocaine were confiscated by police and two men were arrested on Wednesday afternoon after Taunton detectives performed a surveillance operation in the parking lot of Mill River Professional Center.

They were also charged with conspiracy to violate a drug law, failure to stop for police and negligent operation of a motor vehicle.

Chavis was arraigned Thursday and held in lieu of $5,000 cash bail.

Fraser is being held on $5,000 bail on those charges and is also held without bail for violating pretrial probation in connection to an April arrest for unarmed robbery.

Both men are due back in Taunton District Court for pretrial hearings on July 25.

Two members of the TPD Street Crimes Unit and a patrolman took part in the noon surveillance operation.

Detective Sgt. Matthew Skwarto said he spotted Chavis sitting alone in a 2014 Nissan Sentra in the parking area of CVS, which directly abuts the busy Washington Street retail, office and medical plaza.

A check of the Nissan showed it was rented from a Brockton business, police said.

Skwarto’s report noted that a 2000 Volvo S40 driven by Fraser pulled into the plaza and stopped a few spaces from the Sentra.

Both cars were parked well away from the store’s front entrance, which police noted is a common practice by drug dealers who conduct transactions in busy parking lots.

Police said they watched Fraser get into the front seat with Chavis, at which time the men appeared to engage in a drug transaction.

When Skawrto, fellow Detective Peter Corr and Patrolman Brett Collins tried to box in the vehicles, Fraser reportedly took off at a high speed disregarding stop signs in the plaza and causing other vehicles to get out of the way.

Fraser evaded Taunton police but was later picked up at his residence by Norton police after the TPD broadcast a “be-on-the-lookout” call, according to the report.

Chavis, meanwhile, was apprehended after he allegedly threw his car into reverse, ignored police commands to stop and backed up at a high speed directly into a traffic island.

Police said a pat-down search of Chavis revealed a plastic baggie with 53.3 grams of rock-like cocaine and $565 in cash. They said a subsequent search of the vehicle turned up another 50.8 grams of cocaine and a digital pocket scale.

A board of probation record check, cops said, indicated Chavis had previously been convicted for four drug violations in Massachusetts. They also said he has also has served 120 months in prison for a federal conviction of cocaine distribution.

Skwarto’s report noted that police over time have made a number of drug-related arrests in the shopping plaza, which shares a parking lot with both a nearby CVS and Dunkin’ Donuts.

As recently as this past Monday, Taunton police arrested two men near the adjacent YMCA for breaking and entering into a parked vehicle, disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace.

Alex Dasco of Atlas Investment LLC, the Boston development firm that has made a series of structural and cosmetic improvements since buying the shopping center in 2002, told the Taunton Daily Gazette on Tuesday his company has asked Taunton police to increase patrols in the 15-acre site.

When informed about the latest drug bust, Dasco said he recognized the “good police work” on behalf of Taunton police.